For example, an exemplary electronic apparatus or a game machine includes a fixed casing having operation keys and a movable casing which has a liquid crystal display device or the like and is slidable relative to the fixed casing. A sliding mechanism may be installed in such an electronic apparatus to enable a slide motion of the movable casing relative to the fixed casing.
A spring unit is installed inside the sliding mechanism applied to this electronic apparatus. This sliding mechanism biases the movable casing toward a closing direction until an operator moves the movable casing to a predetermined position relative to the fixed casing, and biases the movable casing toward an opening direction after the operator moves the movable casing to a position equal to or farther than the predetermined position relative to the fixed casing. Thus, it is possible to improve operability of the electronic apparatus.
Springs having various structures are used for the spring units. One of the spring units is structured to have multiple wire springs made of a metal (see Patent Document 1). According to the spring unit disclosed in Patent Document 1, multiple wire springs (three springs) are used and end parts of the multiple wire springs are connected to the casing of the electronic apparatus using a connecting member.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2009-133495